Leganes, officially the Municipality of Leganes (, ), is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Iloilo Iloilo ( ; ), officially the Province of Iloilo (; ; ; ), is a province in the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital and largest city is Iloilo City, the regional center of Western Visayas and politically independen ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 34,725 people. It is located north of the capital

Iloilo City Iloilo City, officially the City of Iloilo (; ; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Western Visayas Regions of the Philippines, region of the Philippines, located on the southeastern coast of th ...

and is part of the Metro Iloilo–Guimaras area. Like most Philippine towns that sprawl outward from the capital, is made up of houses, farms and light agricultural industry. The major thoroughfare runs right through the center of the town.

History

Leganes has a history closely intertwined with the neighboring town of Jaro. For many centuries, Leganes was considered an unremarkable area, primarily consisting of wetlands, marshes, and swamps. The upper part of the region was inhabited by wild animals, and it was known as Guihaman. In 1903, through Act No. 719, Leganes was incorporated into the municipality of Santa Barbara. However, this arrangement was short-lived. In 1915, by virtue of Executive Order No. 97, Leganes was removed from Santa Barbara and merged with Jaro, effective from January 1, 1916. Further changes occurred in 1939 when Executive Order No. 241 was issued on December 23. This order separated the "arrabal de Leganes" from the municipality of Jaro, establishing it as an independent municipality. This change officially took effect on January 1, 1940, marking the formation of the municipality of Leganes. In 2024, Leganes was designated as one of the locations for

light industries Light industry are industries that usually are less capital-intensive than heavy industries and are more consumer-oriented than business-oriented, as they typically produce smaller consumer goods. Most light industry products are produced fo ...

in the province. Restia Agro-Industrial Estate Park in Barangay Calabao, is the province's first agro-industrial economic zone, accredited by the

Philippine Economic Zone Authority The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), formerly known as the Foreign Trade Zone Authority (FTZA) and Export Processing Zone Authority (EPZA), is a Philippine government agency attached to the Department of Trade and Industry. It was ...

(PEZA).

Geography

Barangays

Leganes is politically subdivided into 18

barangay The barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as ''barrio'', is the smallest Administrative divisions of the Philippines, administrative division in the Philippines. Named after the Precolonial barangay, precolonial po ...

s. Each barangay consists of

purok A ''purok'' () is an informal division within a barangay in the Philippines. While not officially considered a local government unit (LGU), a ''purok'' often serves as a unit for delivering services and administration within a barangay. ''Pur ...

s and some have

sitios A ''sitio'' (Spanish language, Spanish for "site") in the Philippines is a territorial enclave that forms part of a barangay. Typically rural, a ''sitios location is usually far from the center of the barangay itself and could be its own bar ...

. * M.V. Hechanova (Balabago) * Bigke * Buntatala * Cagamutan Norte * Cagamutan Sur * Calaboa * Camangay * Cari Mayor * Cari Minor * Gua-an * Guihaman * Guinobatan * Guintas * Lapayon * Nabitasan * Napnud *

Poblacion ''Poblacion'' (from Spanish '' población'', meaning "population"), sometimes abbreviated as Pob., is a term used in the Philippines to refer to the administrative center, downtown, old town, or commercial area of a city or municipality. It ...

* San Vicente

Climate

Demographics

In the 2020 census, the population of Leganes, Iloilo, was 34,725 people, with a density of .

Language

Hiligaynon is the most dominant dialect used by the residents. English and Tagalog are also spoken.

Religion

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

is the most dominant religion in this municipality.

Economy

References

External links

* Philippine Standard Geographic Code
Philippine Census Information

Local Governance Performance Management System
{{Authority control Municipalities of Iloilo